


Stealing Love

by MyJediLife



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben Solo is a Mess, Ben drives a car that costs 125k, Ben is a trust fund kid, Ben just might let her, Ben wants attention, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Excess Baggage AU, F/M, Fake Kidnapping, How did he even fit in that trunk?, How to fake your own kidnapping, I Don't Even Know, I priced it out, Inappropriate Use of a Porsche, Leather seats chaf, Meets Gone In 60 Seconds, Mentions of Cancer, Our boy is HUGE, Pretentious coffee orders are fun, Rey (Star Wars) is a Mess, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey is a car thief, Rey likes driving Ben's stick shift, Rey likes driving high performance cars, Rey wants to steal more than Bens car, Things you find in a car trunk may surprise you, mentions of damerey, slight damerey, they used to date ok?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-08-23 04:51:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20237035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyJediLife/pseuds/MyJediLife
Summary: Rey hates working in the coffee shop, making coffees for pretentious trust fund kids. When her mother falls ill, she and her siblings band together to get the money needed to save her life.*******Ben Solo is a rich, trust fund kid who is starved for attention from his absentee parents. To get them to pay attention to him, and his wishes, he hatches a plan - to kidnap himself.When his car gets stolen in the middle of his plan - what could possibly happen next?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VeriLee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeriLee/gifts).

> This is based on a prompt for Lee, who is a true gift to this fandom, and a generally amazing person!
> 
> She wanted a fic based on the movie "Excess Baggage". Well, Lee, you are getting "Excess Baggage" meets "Gone In 60 Seconds".... and I hope I do this great prompt justice!
> 
> Thank you to -insert names- for my beta and aesthetic.
> 
> _AUTHOR'S NOTE: AFTER THIS COMES OFF ANON, YOU WILL BE RECEIVING A BONUS ONE SHOT. YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHY THEN. :) _

[](https://imgur.com/bro3lpZ)

Rey hated serving coffee to pretentious trust fund kids, who probably had never worked a day in their lives. She would much rather have her body half into the motor of a Chevy, covered in grease as she turned a wrench. She always amused herself, though, by either intentionally spelling names wrong, or deciding who they would be in the future just by making their coffee for them.

Today, for example, there was Buffy, who looked puzzled when Rey handed her Venti iced decaf marble mocha macchiato with an extra shot, no whip, and coconut milk, with extra mocha drizzle to her, which just had ‘Slayer’ scrawled across it.  _ Trophy wife _ , Rey thought to herself as Buffy walked off, replaced by a tall, dark-haired man with a perpetual scowl on his face.

“What can I get you?” Rey gave him her normal, chipper smile, never expecting the deep timbre of the voice that answered her. His voice was like sin, rich and delicious as he said, “Venti latte. Half coconut milk, half two percent, two and a half espresso shots, extra foam - but not a cappuccino – one and a half raw sugars. Pour the milk - not the foam, stir, spoon the foam on top.”

As Rey punched the order in, she nodded before looking up at him, her hazel eyes meeting ones of amber covered in molten chocolate. “Your name for the order?”

He frowned as he swiped his American Express card through the card reader. “Kylo. K-Y-L-O.”

Rey smirked at him as she said, “Got it, Kylo with a ‘Y’. I’ll have your drink up at the counter soon.”

After making his drink, Rey smirked as she scribbled ‘Grumpy Dark Lord’ on his cup before calling out, “Kylo with a ‘Y’!” As he approached, Rey slid the cup towards him, giving him a smile as she said, “Have a good day!” As he reached for the cup, their fingers met, a delicious kind of electric energy sliding between them. Rey looked up at him, her lips parting as a small gasp left her lips and her face flushed slightly. She hoped he felt it too, but instead, he pulled his hand away quickly.

Ben’s eyes travelled to the black marker on the cup, one brow rising as he cast his eyes upwards to meet the barista’s sparkling hazel ones a final time. Rolling his eyes, Ben let out a huff of air as he turned, making his way back out into the sunshine of a warm summer morning.

_ High powered attorney, _ Rey thought to herself as she watched him walk out of the coffee shop before helping the next customer waiting in line.  _ An insanely hot, high powered attorney. _

+++

Ben Solo looked at the date on his phone before opening the door to his Porsche 718 Cayman – a graduation gift from his parents. He was positive the car had been to make up for the fact that they missed graduation completely, because his mother had been deep in the midst of working on a new bill in the Senate, and his father had been off doing charity food drops in some war zone across the world. As he slid into the custom leather driver’s seat, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

He had a month and a half left before his mother would insist on shipping him off to Harvard, to follow in her footsteps – or some shit like that. Ben didn’t want to be a Senator, or an attorney, or a fighter pilot like his Dad. He didn’t want to go to some prissy Ivy League college, where, if your last name was the same as a politician’s or another famous person, you got treated like you owned the place.

Ben wanted to get a degree in English Literature from Berkeley. He wanted to write, and read, and be himself, instead of what his absentee parents wanted him to be. He wanted to be Kylo Ren – author. He knew that Leia and Han would only pay attention to him if he was someone important – a Senator. A war hero like his dad and his Uncle Luke.

Ben wasn’t any of those, though, nor did he want to be.

His phone chimed with a text message from his mother.

_ <Mommy Dearest> Have you spoken to Kaydel yet, since she has been home? Don’t you want to see her, Benjamin? _

Ben rolled his eyes, his thoughts going back to the barista just inside the building he had just left. While Kaydel would be impressed with his Platinum Amex and his Breitling watch, the barista – Rey, her name tag had said – didn’t even blink an eye at either. When her fingers had touched his briefly, he felt the electricity dancing between them.

He couldn’t help but think about the way her fingers had felt against his, or the way her hazel eyes danced in the light – or the adorable freckles adorning her sun-kissed skin.

He ignored his mother’s text as he started the car and pulled out into traffic, his mind whirring along as fast as his car’s wheels were spinning.

He needed a plan to get their attention. Maybe then he could finally get them to  _ listen _ to him, and what he wanted. It was hard to do, when the only contact he had was texts and phone calls, and Sunday night Skype sessions.

+++

Maz looked at her kids as they shuffled into her living room, smiling at each one of them. When she had adopted Finn and Rey as teenagers, she had vowed to them all that she would never lie to them, and that they would be well cared-for until they were adults. Even now that they were grown, they all knew that they could come to her no matter what they needed.

Rose and Paige had come to her as two scared little girls before Finn and Rey had walked into their lives. Their parents had been two of Maz’s dearest friends, and the fire that had destroyed their home and taken their lives had left their daughters without anyone to go to. Maz had agreed to take them in and raise them – a decision she had never regretted.

Then came Finn and Rey, both very troubled children who had been bounced from home to home after being abandoned by their parents at a young age. Rey had been a tiny slip of a girl with scared eyes, barely able to utter a word without cringing for fear she might be hit – or, worse yet – sent to another home. Finn had been a sullen, quiet boy, and he and Rey had bonded almost immediately.

They were her pride and joy, and her greatest accomplishment in life.

“Mama,” Finn crowed as he came to her chair, planting a kiss on her cheek. Maz reached up and patted his cheek softly.

“My dear boy, come home to see his mother again!”

Rose, of course, was at his side, smiling at Maz. When they grew into adults, Rose and Finn realized that there was something more between them than adopted sibling affection. Now, they forged through life together, happily in love – and Maz was thrilled they had found happiness. Rose leaned down to kiss Maz’s cheek as well, and Maz smiled at Paige, who leaned in and kissed her other cheek.

Rey, as usual, stood on the outside of things, watching her siblings with eyes that had never quite lost their sadness and fear. Rey suffered, Maz knew, the trauma of her early years still lingering in her psyche, like a dark smudge on a freshly painted wall.

Even now, Rey was afraid everyone would walk out on her and leave her behind.

Maz’s heart clenched for her poor girl. So much damage had been done to her dear Rey as a child, and while Maz knew she was doing well now, the last vestiges of her troubled past still resided deep within her soul, waiting to come out and be dealt with.

Rey stepped forward, leaning down to wrap her arms around Maz for a brief hug. Once they had all greeted her, Maz stood, making her way into the kitchen. It was a Sunday tradition for the five of them to have lunch together, she got to hear all the gossip from the kids, and usually one of them needed her advice on some matter or another.

Maz had always thought she’d be there for her kids – now she had to wonder if their time was coming to an end with her. A call from her doctor earlier had held ominous news – ‘We found a lump on your breast, we’d like for you to come in as soon as possible for additional testing.’ Dr. Kalonia had never lied to her, and over the years, Maz had learned to trust her feelings. Currently, her feelings were telling her that there was something horribly wrong, something that had the potential of taking her away from those she loved the most.

Finn and the others shuffled in behind her, Rey sniffing at the air, and Maz had to chuckle at the low groan that left her lips. Rey had been a voracious eater her entire life, and from what Maz had been told, she had been starved – for both attention, touch AND physically – by all her former placements.

Bending down to pull the pot roast out of the oven, Maz turned and set the pan on the counter before facing and grinning at her children. “Come, get your food, my loves.”

After they had eaten, Maz sat back in her chair, looking around the table before she sighed. “I… I have some news. Dr. Kalonia called earlier,” Maz looked at each of her children, who were all staring at her as she spoke, “At my last exam, she found a concerning anomaly - a lump – and she wants to do further testing.”

She watched as their eyes widened, and Finn reached for Rose’s hand immediately, Rose reaching out with her other hand to clutch Paige’s. Rey sat stoically, her expression unmoving as the news sunk in to all of their brains.

“Now, young ones, let’s not fret until we know what the good doctor thinks. Let’s see what the tests show before we let our minds go to the worst case scenarios. Deal?” Maz looked around the table, making eye contact with each one of them before nodding, smacking her hands down on the table. “Speaking of dealing… let’s get these dishes cleared so we can play some poker!”

She grinned as she watched the four others scramble out of their seats to clear the dishes from the table as quickly as possible.

+++

Two weeks later, when Maz had gotten the news, she had called her children together, the look in her eyes serious. “Dr. Kalonia called today. The mass in my breast was malignant. I have breast cancer, and we are exploring my treatment options.”

The words were still swirling through Rey’s mind as she worked at the coffee shop the next morning, the smile she tried to keep on her face was a ghost of her usual one. When the tall, handsome man that had been an almost constant figure in the shop the last month or so approached the counter, Rey looked up at him.

“Your usual, Kylo?”

“Yeah. And… please stop writing ‘Grumpy Dark Lord’ on my cup?” Ben’s eyes looked into hers for a moment, and he felt his heart clench at the pain he saw in her hazel eyes. He had been coming to this coffee shop for the past month because of her, specifically, her bright smile and teasing nature tended to brighten his day for a few brief moments before he had to think about the shitstorm his life was.

He had two weeks to come up with a way to get his parents’ attention. Two weeks before they would ship him off, across the country to Harvard, and he’d never get to see a certain brunette barista who had the most enticing hazel eyes and delicious freckles he had ever seen. Two weeks to get them home, so he could talk to them in person and tell them he didn’t want to be a lawyer. He wanted to take another year off and apply to Berkeley or NYU to pursue an English degree in the hopes of becoming a writer.

“Yeah, sure,” Rey mumbled as she went to make his drink. When she called his name – “Kylo” instead of her usual “Kylo with a ‘Y’” – he made his way to the counter, taking his cup and giving a tiny smirk as he saw what she had scrawled on his cup – ‘GDL’ was better than ‘Grumpy Dark Lord’ - Ben supposed as he walked outside, climbing into his Porsche as he pondered what to do about his life once more.

As he parked his Porsche in the circular driveway outside his parent’s mansion, Ben almost pulled back out onto the street when he noticed the shiny new BMW there. His mother had been trying to hook  _ her _ up with Ben since they were children. Kaydel was the daughter of a Senator, as well, and was going to college at Brown. Obviously, Leia had invited her over for a visit before the new semester started – hopefully with the intention of getting her and Ben to interact.

She had been doing this for years now. Every week, during their Skype call, she would ask if he had asked Kaydel out on a date yet. With a sigh, Ben entered the house, his Uncle Luke turning as he stood in the sitting room to smile at him. His Uncle was his mother’s twin – and her watchdog – along with the nanny who had raised Ben. 

“Ben…” Luke smiled tightly at him, already knowing his nephew wasn’t pleased to see either of them. “Look who came to visit before heading back to Brown… isn’t it nice to see Kaydel again?”

“Yeah. It’s great,” Ben deadpanned, his eyes looking over at Kaydel, who was standing behind his uncle, smiling at him. He could feel acid rising in his throat at the thought of spending time with Kaydel. It wasn’t that she wasn’t nice – but she was trophy wife nice, willing to do whatever she could to marry a man with a mansion and a yacht.

He wanted a real connection. He longed for someone who loved him for him, not for his surname or his trust fund. He wanted to marry someone he could read his poetry to, and someone he could stay up all night with, coming up with plots for his next novel.

The only person he could picture in his brain that might fit the bill for what he wanted bore chestnut hair and hazel eyes, with a smattering of freckles across her face.

“Nice seeing you again, Kaydel. I need to go work on some things. See you at dinner, Luke?” Ben smiled half-heartedly at the duo before turning and walking to his room, where he could write and think about a barista who had – for some reason – captured his attention completely.

With a bored sigh, Ben tossed his sunglasses onto his desk, taking out his phone from his pocket and scrolling through his Reddit and Twitter feeds. While he would have preferred blue walls with posters of his favorite bands on them, his walls were done in Harvard’s red and white colors, pennants and posters of the college adorning the walls. It had been a surprise graduation gift to Ben the day he had graduated high school, along with his Porsche. Ben knew Leia had it done just to atone for not being there for one of the milestones of his life – much like she had never been there.

Was it too hard to simply come home every once in a while to see your only child? Was it so hard to listen to his needs and wants?

Ben knew if he ever had children, he would never leave them alone to be raised by a hippie uncle and a nanny – he would be there for them, no matter what.

+++

“What do you mean, your insurance dropped you? They can’t do that!” Finn was almost yelling the next week, as they gathered for their family meal at Maz’s house.

“They can, and they have, dear child. It will work out. I have seen it. Please, don’t fret, my loves.” Maz looked around the table at her children, who were all in various stages of disbelief. Finn was angry, of course, his nostrils flaring and his fists clenched at his side, Rose was weeping in Paige’s arms, while Paige let tears fall onto her little sister’s head, unabashedly. It was Rey’s reaction, though, that worried Maz the most.

She was stoic, her face like stone as she sat quietly beside Finn.

Maz could tell, though. When you got as old as she was, you could see the same eyes in different people – and her Rey was terrified she was about to lose another person in her life. She was trying to be the strong one, out of all of them. Maz knew, though, that the strongest people often were the hardest to fall. She would have to keep an eye on Rey, to make sure her little scavenger was doing okay throughout her illness.

+++

“We have to call Poe,” Rey said softly later that night, as they all sat around the living room in Rose and Finn’s apartment.

“Rey, no! We said we were done after the last time. We can’t… our lives are so much better now! We all have jobs, and…” Rose dissolved into tears again, Finn tightening his arms around her as he looked at Rey. They shared a long glance before Paige spoke softly, Rose’s sobs almost drowning her out.

“She’s right. It’s the only way we can get the money to pay for Mom’s treatments. One more job, and we’re done. This isn’t about us this time – it’s about Mom. Make the call, Rey.”


	2. Chapter 2

[](https://imgur.com/QZn1TVe)

Poe Dameron had inherited the scrap yard from his abuelo when he passed away nine years ago, and had made it the base for his true business – acquisitions of high performance, high end vehicles. His buyers had expensive tastes, and didn’t much care just  _ how _ he got their vehicles – as long as they arrived safely and without a scratch on them.

He stood as Rey weaved her way through the aisles of scrap and demolished cars, a grin on his face. He hadn’t seen her for almost three months now, and the sight of her face never failed to make him smile. “Scrapper! How’s my favorite girl doing?”

“Hey Poe!” Rey said in return, a genuine smile gracing her lips at the sight of her friend. She and Poe had a long history, going back to middle school, shortly after Maz had adopted her and Finn. She had been bullied at school by two rich girls, who thought that anyone who didn’t wear Gucci was far beneath them in every way.

Until Poe stepped in, with his million watt smile and dark good looks. Every girl in the middle school had a crush on Poe Dameron, the good-looking, charming, star football player. Rey had been no different. For some reason, he had defended her against the bullies, and had looked after her ever since. They had started dating freshman year, and all through high school they were together. Poe’s family had become her second family, and the scrap yard was her favorite place to be. Rey had always found a sense of peace strolling through the heaps of wrecked, broken cars, taking the useable items from them to use in another vehicle. It was akin to giving the broken things another chance at life, and Rey felt a connection in some way, because she had been broken, and Maz had given her a second chance at life.

The summer after they had graduated was when it all went south. Poe had decided to take a gap year before using his football scholarship to UCLA, and Rey was preparing to start college at California State. She was with Poe the day he met Peter Snoke, and that day had sealed their relationship’s fate.

When Poe got arrested the first time for stealing a car, Rey ended things with him. While she may have loved him, it was his choice to ruin  _ his _ future, not hers. She couldn’t be drug into it.

Since then, he had worked his way up in Snoke’s organization, becoming Snoke’s right-hand man within several years. Last year, when Snoke had gone missing – everyone assuming that some paleontologist would find his well-preserved body in the La Brea Tar Pits at some point in the future - Poe had taken over the organization.

Rey had gone on with her life, managing to work two jobs to afford her own apartment and car, all while keeping a 3.6 GPA in her mechanical engineering program. Now she was in grad school, and being the girlfriend of Poe Dameron definitely wouldn’t help any future career plans she had.

As it stood, they maintained a quiet friendship, both of them admitted they had made mistakes which had broken them apart, and would keep them apart.

“So, Superstar,” Rey put her arms around Poe, letting him pull her close for a tight hug, his lips grazing hers in a small, friendly kiss. “We need your help.”

+++

Boosting cars was never an easy feat. Most people assumed that it was simply jumping in a car, hotwiring it, and driving off – just like in the movies.

Rey and her siblings knew it took a hell of a lot more than that. First of all, you had to do your homework. You had to track down the vehicles, do intel on them – and then plan the boost. This wasn’t the first time they had done this – but this time, the stakes were a bit higher.

Poe had given them a month to get him twenty high performance vehicles – and he would pay all the costs for Maz’s cancer treatments in return. For the four siblings, no price was too high to help their mom live – so they readily agreed. They had a lot longer to plan this heist than they had the last ones, so their confidence was high.

+++

Ben Solo flung his phone against the wall, seething as he thought about another failed conversation with his mother. Getting Leia to focus on him to have a heartfelt conversation for five fucking minutes seemed to be a feat worthy of someone far more important than he – her only fucking child. He wasn’t another Senator, or a Senate page, or the President, therefore, he wasn’t important enough to talk to more than once a week.

“Fuck!” He shouted, his phone shattering into bits of plastic all over the floor, leaving an indentation in the wall.

“I’m fucking going out,” Ben muttered at his Uncle Luke, who had come at a fast pace to see what had been destroyed by his nephew this time.

“Yeah…” Luke replied with a slight shake of his head. “Looks like you need a new phone.”

An hour later, with new phone in hand, Ben pulled up in front of his favorite coffee shop. He wasn’t sure just why – but he was really hoping that a certain barista with stunning hazel eyes was working. The smile on her face as she delivered his coffee to him always made his heart beat just a little faster, and the moment he let his fingers touch hers was a memory he couldn’t get out of his mind for some reason.

As he got to the door, he heard her voice ring out from one of the outside bistro tables.

“Kylo with a ‘Y’. Come to get your too expensive coffee for the day?” Rey smirked, her sunglasses perched on top of her chestnut tresses as she looked up at him, her chair tilted back on two feet and her heels perched on the table top.

“People have to eat on that table, you know,” Ben said, shaking his head slightly as Rey rolled her eyes, taking a slow sip from her drink.

“And we wash them off with bleach after every customer leaves. I think we’re good.” God, the man was a tall drink of water, especially when she was sitting down. She wasn’t working today, but had dropped by to wait for Rose – who had another hour left on her shift. Rey had been studying for exams – and scoping out cars at the same time.

Kylo’s car was definitely going on their hit list – a Porsche 718 Cayman had to run at least a hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars or so. For a trust fund kid, though, he seemed rather unsettled lately, and Rey tilted her head to one side before speaking. “Something’s been off with you lately, Kylo with a ‘Y’. You are really starting to take on that grumpy dark lord persona. Is that more attractive to women?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Ben huffed before opening the door and stepping inside. The way she had looked at him, her eyes sparkling and that damn smirk on those perfect lips of hers made his heart beat faster in his chest, and he wondered if there was any way he could ever gather the courage to ask her out.

Rey watched Ben walk inside, shaking her head slightly as she let her eyes drift down to a well-sculpted ass, biting her bottom lip softly as she went back to eyeing his car some more. It was going to take some true badassery to pull it off, but luckily, they had a badass computer engineer – Rose – and a really good driver – Finn. They could do this. They could totally do this.

Ben pulled a hand through his hair in frustration as he waited for his drink. He had a week left to convince his parents he didn’t want to go to Harvard, and he had a feeling he was going to have to resort to extreme measures to get their attention. Leia was working on a new bill in D.C., and Han was still in Sudan, or wherever his next drop was.

Was it too much to ask to get them in the same room as him for five minutes, so he could have a conversation with them?

Apparently so.

He took the drink from the short, dark-haired barista and spun on his heel, bursting out the door with a drawn out sigh. “Can’t even come home for five fucking minutes to have a conversation… fucking morons,” he muttered as he stepped onto the sidewalk.

“Excuse me! You didn’t yell at my sister, did you? I swear, Kylo with a ‘Y’, if you so much as frowned at her, I will find a way to kick your oversized ass…” Rey stood as Ben made his way back outside, sizing him up as he burst through the door. He was obviously pissed off, his brown, expressive eyes told her everything he was feeling inside.

“What?” Ben stopped mid-stride, turning his head to look at Rey, who had her hands on her hips and her head tilted to one side as she looked at him.

“You have that BDE going on. I figured you probably yelled at my sister. Rose. Asian, short… pretty and overly cheerful to everyone?” Rey said, still watching him with sparkling eyes.

“You have a sister who is Asian?” Ben’s brow wrinkled in confusion, and he followed his first statement with, “And what in the fuck is BDE?”

Rey let out a giggle as she asked, “You are in your twenties and you don’t know what big dick energy is, Grumpy Dark Lord? That’s hilarious.”

Ben huffed again, feeling some of the tension drain out of him at the sound of her laughter and the sparkle in her eyes. “I’m not grumpy either, okay?”

Rey giggled harder now, doubling over and slapping her knees as she did so. “Yeah, and I’m the Queen of England. Dude… you are totally grumpy.”

“Whatever,” Ben said, taking a step towards his car before he heard her again.

“You know… smiling is a thing. Most people do it at some point in their lives, and I bet you have a really nice smile. Maybe someday you can prove me right.” Ben half-turned to look at Rey, who was gracing him with one of her brilliant smiles.

“Doubtful,” Ben said, going to his car and getting in it. He wished he could be a normal person and smile at her, and find a way to ask her out. Instead, he was going to go home alone, probably smoke a joint, and masturbate.

Yeah, being a rich kid was tons of fun.

+++

“I have our first target,” Rey said three nights later, as they all gathered at her tiny apartment above Unkar Plutt’s garage for their weekly movie night. Rose smirked beside her, pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket.

“I hacked into the DMV when Rey told me about it. The car is registered to a Ben Solo. His address is in Beverly Hills. They have pretty good security, I’ve been watching through their cameras. Dude always parks his Porsche in the driveway instead of the garage, so all it is gonna take is knocking the security system out in the middle of the night and hooking a fun little toy up to the ignition. Easy Peasy. Then it’s all up to my sexy boyfriend to get it to the docks in one piece.” Rose grinned at Finn, bumping her fist against Rey’s as she looked at her adopted sister. “Wonder why he gives us the name Kylo, though?”

Rey shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter to me, it’s his car I want.” Her face reddened slightly at the lie – she would take more than his car if she could. He intrigued her in a way no one ever had before.

Her siblings didn’t need to know that detail, though. Some things were better left unsaid.

+++

“Dammit, Mother, you promised!” Ben was irate, the spot under his left eye twitching as he glared at his mother through the phone screen.

“Benjamin, you know full well how important my work is. You are twenty-two years old. You were supposed to take one year off to find yourself after high school. It’s been four years, Ben. Most kids your age are graduating with their undergrad degrees this year. Harvard will be a wonderful awakening for you.” Leia pulled her glasses off her face, putting them down on her desk as she peered at the phone screen at her son.

“Mother, you promised me you or Father would be home this week, and that we could discuss these plans in person. Have you taken my thoughts into consideration here? Have you ever? You missed my high school graduation, most of my birthdays, Christmases… pretty much every important event in my life.” Ben huffed out a breath, trying to fight the urge to throw his phone against the wall. Somehow, he thought his mother would complain about having to buy him two new phones in the space of two weeks, though, so he simply clenched his fists at his side.

“I’m sorry, Ben. I simply can’t make it. I’ll be at the airport to pick you up when you arrive in Boston, though, okay? I’ll help you get settled into your apartment, and we’ll spend the weekend catching up. Alright, son?”

“Yeah. Sure. Thanks, Mother.” Ben reached out, tapping the screen to end the video call.

He had to do something to get her attention – and do it soon. Settling onto his bed, Ben rubbed at his temples, trying to figure out how he could get his point across. His entire life, his parents had been absent. His mother had been inserting Kaydel into his life since middle school, trying to make them get closer so they could date and become some super couple. Ben had never wanted Kay, though, at least not in the way Leia had hoped.

The only girl he was interested in didn’t even know he was alive – at least not more than thinking of him as some spoiled, grumpy rich kid.

With a heavy sigh, Ben flipped through the channels on his flat screen, dozing off to some documentary about the tortoises of the Galapagos Islands, and waking with a start – a plan forming in his brain.

_ I bet they would notice me if I wasn’t here – if someone kidnapped me. Nobody would get hurt, of course, and I’d take a long road trip, show back up in a month or so. I bet that would get their attention. _

Sitting up, he grabbed his laptop to do some research. He didn’t have much time to plan.

+++

It didn’t take long for them to get prepared. Rey thought of this boost as a trial run, really. In the coming weeks they would have to be a lot more brazen in order to meet Poe’s deadline. While Rey didn’t think her old lover would ever harm her – she really didn’t want to get on his bad side to find out, and Maz needed the money for her treatments.

She had lost so many people in her life, people who had decided not to be around her. She couldn’t lose the only mother she had ever had as well.

After watching his home for several days to try and pick out patterns, they figured a Sunday night was the best time, and so, after dinner with their mom, they all met at Paige’s place, which was closest to the freeway. There was an almost palpable tension in the air, and as they checked their equipment for the final time, Rey looked around the room at her siblings.

“You all know the stakes here. Mom is important to all of us. She needs this. We need this. We get in there fast, do the job, meet up with Poe at the container afterwards. Got it?” Rey looked around at Rose, Finn and Paige, making eye contact with each as they nodded at her.

“Let’s do this.”

+++

Ben had done his research. He had practiced. He knew what he needed to do.

As he talked to his mother, he tried to remain calm.

“So, I will see you in Boston next week, son. I’m so excited! Aren’t you?” Leia smiled at Ben through the phone screen. “I already have your apartment furnished for you, and painted. It’ll be cozy, and a good place for studying, of course. Maybe Kay can come visit you on the weekends!”

“Yeah. Great. It’s great, Mother.” Ben resisted rolling his eyes at his mother – it wouldn’t do him much good, anyways. She would just ignore him like she always had.

“Alright, Benjamin. This time next week, we’ll be talking in person! I’ll see you then! Let Uncle Luke know if you need anything.” Leia kissed one fingertip, putting it to the screen. “Love you, my beautiful boy!”

“Yeah, I know. Me too.” Ben ended the call before sighing and running a hand through his hair.

It was go time – at least for a practice run. He knew where he wanted to drive to when he actually did the real disappearing act – but he had to make sure he had all his ducks in a row, so to speak.

He had thought ahead, and withdrawn enough cash to get him through several months of living in semi-decent motels and eating frugally. He knew he would have to lay low, and had bought clothes in spurts over the last several weeks, packing them away carefully in the trunk, along with several burner phones, a new laptop he had bought with cash from Best Buy, along with a tablet. Also packed away were his notebooks, and several thumb drives containing all his writing.

Becoming a ghost temporarily wasn’t as hard as he had first thought it would be.

Ben slipped out of the house well after dark, opening his trunk and surveying it thoughtfully. Sighing, he put on a pair of gloves before applying a strip of duct tape to his mouth, climbing into the trunk – which was a feat, considering his size. Still, he found that even with his supplies, he still had room to squeeze in. Using a spare key fob he had made, he hit the button to close the trunk, leaving him in complete darkness. Ben gulped in a deep breath of air to fight the claustrophobia he was feeling before he set to work, tying rope in careful knots, binding his hands together behind his back, his key fob placed carefully under his arm, where he could hit it with his elbow to open the trunk up again.

_ This is good, _ he thought.  _ I drive out of state, into some state park, I put myself in the trunk like this after making a phone call, and I’m good. No one gets hurt, and my freaking parents finally come home. Of course… shit. I’ll need a different car, mine is too noticeable. No worries. _

Ben didn’t have time to ruminate further, as he heard someone get into his car, the high performance vehicle taking off a moment later at a high rate of speed.

_ Shit! Shit! What the fuck is going on? _

Ben scrambled for his key fob, intending to open the trunk to get out, but as the Porsche rounded a corner, he felt the fob slip away, lost to the dark confines of the trunk.

_ FUCK! _

The last thing he remembered before he flew upwards when the car encountered another tight corner and a bump, sending him flying up against the trunk lid, his head slamming into the metal, was that he forgot to make a plan B, in case he couldn’t get out of the trunk.

+++

Rose hit a button on her laptop, and every street light – and security system – in the gated neighborhood, died a strategic death, a huge grin splitting her lips as she looked over at Rey. “It’s all Finn now, and his mad driving skills.”

“FN2187, let me know when you’re in the car. I’ll call in the bar fight and manage the scanner, and you should have smooth sailing to the meet,” Rey spoke into the small microphone, knowing Finn could hear her on the earpiece he was wearing.

“Copy that, scavenger.”

They waited a few tense seconds before Finn’s voice came to her ears. “Sandra is a good girl, she accepted my invitation. On my way.” Rey looked over at Rose and smiled. “Sandra is on her way to the party. I’m calling in the bar fight. Monitor the scanner, okay Paige?” Rey looked into the rearview mirror at Paige, who was perched in the backseat with an earpiece in. She met Rey’s eyes, giving her a thumbs up as Rey dialed 911 on a burner phone.

+++

Twenty minutes later, and the four of them stood in one of Poe’s many warehouses in the dock district, grinning at each other as Poe walked around the car, examining it carefully.

Approaching Rey, he bit his bottom lip, an act that had always driven her crazy when they had been dating. “Hey, scrapper. It all looks good. Let’s take a look and see if we got a good sound system. They usually mount stuff in the trunk.” Poe leaned down, putting his arms around her and picking her up in a hug, spinning her around as he whispered, “You did good, babe. You know… we could work together like this if we were still together…”

Rey shook her head, pushing away, and as Poe set her down on the ground she grazed his cheek with her lips. “I’ll always care about you, Poe. But I am not living the same kind of life anymore. You know that.”

“Well. Friends it is, then. Until I find a way to win your heart back.” Poe grinned at her, winking as he went to the trunk, pressing a button on a device to open it. He peered into the trunk for a moment, a look of surprise crossing his face before he turned around to look at them all. “So, um… what’s with the excess baggage?”


End file.
